


Graduation

by greatdistractions



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:29:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22308880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greatdistractions/pseuds/greatdistractions
Summary: The end of high school is hard for any friend group, especially when one of you is the Antichrist.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Adam, Pepper, Brian, and Wensleydale sat on logs in the Hogback woods. It was inching closer to the summer of their eighteenth year, and adulthood threatened to attack any moment.

Brian lit a match, starting a small bonfire for them to wistfully stare into like the teens on television. None of his clothing fit him particularly well. In fact, if he was ever gifted something that fit perfectly, he would store it in the back of his closet until he was sure it would fit badly.

"Why do you have matches?" Pepper asked. Through the years, she had grown her hair long, shaved it off, and died it three different colours. Currently, red yarn was threaded among tight dreadlocks and reached mid-way down her back. All of her clothing was artfully ripped or made of vegan leather.

"I like fire," Brian said. "It's got a lot of colours if you look close."

"That's not terrifying at all

"Yeah, cause I'm the scary one," he muttered. She kicked him hard enough to bruise.

"Did you get your history paper back, Adam?" Wensleydale hoped getting their leader (of course he was still their leader) to speak would stop a fight from breaking out. He unsurprisingly wore a lot of sweaters. The big shock of Wensleydale's puberty was that he grew tall. He was now the tallest of Them, to their collective disappointment.

Adam, for his part, grew into a handsome young man. His clothes were stylish, without being too stylish. His hair was messy, without being too messy. He always had the perfect balance of effort and effortlessness. He got Them invitations to most parties. "Yeah, I got a 90."

"Excellent!" Wensleydale said. "That's going to come in handy."

"In handy with what?" Adam asked. Brian shifted in his squat by the fire. Pepper stared at a spot just over Adam's head. Wensleydale tried not to look as nervous as he felt. "What's wrong?"

Brian and Wensleydale were going to stumble over each other with excuses, but Pepper barely let them start before saying, "It'll be handy when you go to university."

Adam blinked. Pepper kept her expression neutral. "Tadfield doesn't have a university."

"No," she agreed. "It doesn't."

"I don't understand."

Wensleydale stepped in. "I think she just meant that high school has almost ended, and you're very smart, actually."

"I know I'm smart," Adam said. "What does that have to do with the end of high school?"

Wensleydale, Brian, and Pepper shared a look. Pepper spoke with brutal honesty. "None of us are staying in Tadfield after graduation. Wensleydale got into the London School of Economics. Brian's uncle out in Newcastle has a job opening at his construction site. I'm going to York."

"For what?" Brian asked.

"Women's Studies."

Not realizing the irony, Brian said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I assumed you would make some stupid crack."

"Why would you think--"

The ground shook. It was more of a tremor than a quake, but it silenced the forest. Adam hadn't moved from where he sat. He breathed slow, purposeful breathes.

"Adam--" Wensleydale began. Adam shook his head. All was silent again. Brian slowly moved to Adam's bag. Pepper moved defensively in front of him while he searched through it. After more time than anyone felt comfortable with, he found Adam's phone. He called a number and put it on the ground. Adam picked it up and closed his eyes -- a silent, practiced permission for his friends to leave.

As soon as they were gone, Adam's godfathers arrived. They brought Dog with them, because they could tell it was that kind of afternoon.  
Wensleydale, Pepper, and Brian headed home in silence. If the path was made of grass and not cement, it would have been worn to dirt with the countless similar treks the group had taken over the years. From Hogswood to each house, starting with Brian's and ending at Adam's. Adam could take a shortcut and get home first, but he never did.

When they reached Brian's house, he hesitated. "Do you think he's going to be ok?"

Wensleydale simply answered, "He's Adam."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of high school is hard for any friend group, especially when one of you is the Antichrist.

Each member of Them got a text that night from Adam:

'sorry. see you tomorrow'

He didn't respond to the questions each sent him about how he was doing. Eventually, they stopped sending them. Eventually. Wensleydale tried texting Aziraphael, but the angel had never quite gotten a hang of it. He just responded with a few nonsensical letters he thought were an acronym. 

But Adam was in class the next day, shining as brightly as always. His friends glanced at each other nervously and waited for a chance to speak to him away from classmates. After a morning that felt much longer, they retreated to their usual lunch spot in the least popular section of hallway (it was too near the bathrooms). 

Wensleydale spoke first. "Are you alright, Adam?"

Adam nodded. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Thanks for calling them."

"'Course," Brian said.

"I hadn't... thought about graduation. I didn't want to-- I didn't want to."

"Are you thinking now?" Wensleydale asked.

Adam shrugged. "I won't leave Tadfield. That's all I know." They glanced at each other, but each eventually nodded. They couldn't picture Tadfield without Adam, or Adam without Tadfield. "But I know you all want to leave, and I can't stop you."

Pepper lightly punched Adam. "We're coming back, you know. We love Tadfield too."

"I know," Adam lied.  
\--------  
They did come back, but not forever, and not all at once (apart from holidays). Adam's Godfathers visited more frequently in the following year than any other. 

Adam's spirits were low. But as time moved forward, he returned to his usual self. At Christmas of Their second year at university, he excitedly announced, "I know what I want to do." 

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to be Mayor of Tadfield. The youngest Mayor in history!" And of course, that's exactly what happened. After all, he's Adam.


End file.
